24,000 runners expected for 2018 L.A. Marathon

Runners in the 2017 Los Angeles Marathon depart Dodger Stadium at the start of the race. A full field of almost 25,000 runners is expected March 18 for the 33rd edition of the marathon. (Courtesy photo)

LOS ANGELES — More than 24,000 runners from all 50 states and more than 63 countries are expected to compete in the 2018 Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon March 18 from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica.

Conqur Endurance Group, organizer of the marathon, has announced that the Justin Turner Foundation will be an official charity partner of the 33rd Los Angeles marathon. Dodger third baseman Justin Turner is a Southern California native and will serve as the honorary race starter.

“I’m excited to be partnering with Conqur Endurance Group to have my foundation be an official charity partner of the 2018 Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon,” Turner said. “My team and I do a lot of work to serve the city of Los Angeles and we’re looking forward to exceeding our goal of raising $250,000 for the foundation.”

“We’re proud to have Justin serve as an official ambassador and grateful for the work his foundation does in our community,” said Murphy Reinschreiber, chief operating officer at Conqur Endurance Group. “We hope that our partnership with Justin’s foundation will have an even longer lasting impact on the community than his post-season heroics last year.”

The Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon is an annual running event held each spring in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games and has been contested every year since 1986.

The marathon has been through several course layouts since its inception, most of which started and finished in downtown Los Angeles.

The stadium-to-the-sea course was introduced for the 2010 race and a route similar to that route will be used again this year.

After circulating around historic Dodger Stadium, the course negotiates through Chinatown and its famous Twin Dragon Towers Gateway, El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Park, the oldest section of the city; and two of the latest additions to the city’s cutting-edge architectural heritage: the Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by Frank Gehry, and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, designed by Rafael Moneo.

A map of the course for the 2018 Los Angeles Marathon follows the same stadium-to-the-sea route the marathon has taken since 2010. After its 33 years, the marathon has had several different courses. (Courtesy photo)

At mile 6, the course winds through the communities of Echo Park and Silver Lake before linking up to Sunset Boulevard, where it offers runners a picturesque view of the celebrated Hollywood sign.

For the next eight miles, the course guides runners past such other notable Hollywood landmarks as the Walk of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Comedy Store, the House of Blues Sunset Strip and Whiskey A Go Go.

After leaving West Hollywood, the course continues through the heart of Beverly Hills and straight down Rodeo Drive, one of the most affluent, highest profile shopping thoroughfares in the world.

From Beverly Hills, the course continues west to Century City, a commercial and residential district originally developed on land which comprised the backlot for 20th Century Fox studios.

The “Stadium to the Sea” course includes six miles along Historic Route 66, a celebrated national highway that for decades spanned 2,451 miles from Normal, Illinois to Santa Monica.

It also traverses through the grounds of the Veterans Administration, a sprawling facility originally founded in 1887, which now houses, among other things, the VA’s West Los Angeles Healthcare System. After leading race participants into the community of Brentwood, the course continues along San Vicente Boulevard, a popular, pedestrian-friendly street which attracts runners of all abilities 365 days a year.

The final three miles of the marathon are set in Santa Monica, where the course eventually runs along scenic bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and it concludes on Ocean Avenue near the Santa Monica Pier and its stunning solar-powered Ferris wheel.

The city of West Hollywood is almost the halfway point of the race and city officials are welcoming participants and spectators to the race.

“As someone who has run the L.A. Marathon many times, I know firsthand the hard work that goes into preparing for and running in the marathon,” West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman said.

The marathon also will produce the usual street closures along the race route and motorists are advised to plan their trips in advance on Sunday to account for traffic jams.

While there are no qualifying standards to participate in the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon, runners wishing to receive an official time must successfully complete the course in 6.5 hours.